Saskatchewan Online Gaming

The legal status of online gaming in Saskatchewan is in flux. Operating a casino within the province's borders is illegal, and the province has stated that it won't be entering the online gaming business.

But whether online gaming operations on First Nation reservations within the province are legal is a bone of contention. Various First Nations of Saskatchewan believe it is legal to operate online casinos on sovereign tribal land. The government of Saskatchewan disagrees, and has taken its complaints to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

On 6 November 2012, Bernard Shepherd, the former Chief of the White Bear First Nation and the current CEO of NorthernBearCasino.com, launched the real-money gaming site www.northernbearcasino.com from an office in the White Bear First Nation reservation. The site was launched without the approval of the provincial government.

The Saskatchewan government believes the online casino is illegal and has referred the matter to the RCMP. Nevertheless, NorthernBearCasino.com shut down in October 2014 for economic reasons. There are still no online gambling sites in Saskatchewan.